Background info:
Typically nomadic, the Roma have long acted as wandering ntertainers and tradesmen. In all the places Roma live—in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and northwest India— they have become known as musicians. The wide distances travelled have introduced a multitude of influences, starting with Indian roots and adding Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Slavic, Romanian, German, French, Spanish and Celtic touches.

Romani music characteristically has vocals that tend to be soulful and declamatory, and the music often incorporates prominent glissandi (slides) between notes. Instrumentation varies widely according to the region the music comes from.

Though no conclusive proof has been found, most historians believe that Roma are descended from an Indian people and migrated westward in several waves, probably all before 1000 AD. Roma still live in India, however, in Rajasthan and other areas, and work in multiple castes. These include the puppeteer Bhat, snake charmer Sapera and juggler Kamad castes, as well as Bhopa, Langa and Manganiyar musicians. Rajasthani Roma instruments include the kamayacha, a sort of fiddle, and khartal, a kind of castanets.

Roma moved west from India, spreading throughout what is now Iran, Iraq, Armenia and other Middle Eastern countries. By 1050, the Roma are believed to have been playing music in Constantinople. By the end of the 15th century, Roma people lived in Bulgaria, Egypt, Romania, Hungary, Sudan, Greece and Serbia. From there, they spread to the remainder of Europe, and now exist in small numbers abroad.

Romani communities are common in Arab and Middle Eastern countries, but are often found in southern parts of India as well.

There is a strong tradition of Romani music in Central and Eastern Europe, notably in countries such as Hungary, Romania and the former Yugoslavia. The quintessentially Spanish flamenco is to a very large extent the music (and dance, or indeed the culture) of the Roma of Andalusia.

Macedonian and Albanian Roma play Greek koumpaneia most frequently, with the Macedonian style distinctively known as calgia.
Macedonian Roma music has been popularized by Goran Bregovic's "Ederlezi" from the soundtrack to Emir Kusturica's Time of the Gypsies, which was shot and set in the Macedonian Roma community.

Albanian Roma music is called Tallava. It has a distinct sound and is greatly influenced by Middle Eastern sounds. Drums and the daf are essential instruments. Other than its name, some people refer to it by the names given to the Albanian Roma people such as Hashkali, Magjup, Cigan, Jevg, Harrixhi, etc. Tallava is now gaining much popularity in Albania and many non-Roma singers are also singing and using it.

Čoček is a dance of oriental origin, which can be danced as a line dance or as a solo improvisation. The word čoček comes from the Turkish köçek (dancing boy). Čoček is danced by Turks, Albanians and especially by Roma in Macedonia and Southern Serbia. Similar dances are found in Bulgaria (Kjuček) and Romania (Manea). The movements are small, fine and reserved, as if the dancer were dancing “inside her clothes”. Čoček music is probably the most lively, viable music tradition in the Balkans today, as shown by the success in the world music scene of the Roma musician Ferus Mustafov and the singer diva Esma Redžepova. Besides its Turkish and Balkan roots, the music incorporates strong influences from such diverse styles as Hindi film music or Mexican Mariachi music. Popular instruments today are the accordion, saxophone, clarinet, and even entire brass bands, because brass bands became popular in the folk music of this region after the First World War.

Hungary has a long and famous history of Roma musicians, with Janos Bihari being the most well-known of the traditional orchestra leaders. The Lakatos family now dominates the music.

Rural Hungarian Roma play a sparsely accompanied form of song called loki djili and dance songs called khelimaski djili. Roma in Greece are known for the zurna and davul duos (analogous to the shawm and drum partnership common in Roma music) and Turkish-influenced koumpaneia music. Koumpaneia has long been popular among Greek Roma and Jews (the latter being some of the most popular performers before World War II), especially in the city of Ioannina, and has recently been popularized by artists like Kostas Pavlidis and Yianni Saleas.

Romanian Roma musicians are called lautari, and typically form string bands called taraf. Tarafs include fiddles, cimbaloms, accordions and a double bass, and are common throughout the country. The most popular are Taraf de Haidouks and Fanfare Ciocărlia, who have gained an international following.

Manele is a contemporary movement of Roma music in Romania and elsewhere in the Balkans, incorporating elements of popular music genres into traditional Gypsy music. The Danube basin is probably the Northern limit of dances of oriental origin in Europe. Manea is danced by Roma in Oltenia and around Bucharest along the northern rim of the Danube basin. During the Ceaucescu regime, Roma were prohibited from performing their own music and dances in public. Although Roma were in demand as accompanists for dance ensembles or as musicians in cafés and restaurants they were required to play Romanian music. Because of this, Helene was pleasantly surprised to find this dance in 1993 in Caracal, Oltenia at a dance festival. Manea was danced by both men and women with the subtlety characteristic of the roma dances of Turkey and the Balkans.

During the Renaissance a new, exciting and highly improvised couple dance fashion swept over Europe. The nobility introduced it, the bourgeoisie copied it and peasants danced it and filled it with life. Brueghel painted it; Dürrer illustrated it; preachers denounced it. Wondrously, these dances survive to this day in a far corner of Europe. Romanians, Hungarians and Roma in approximately 30 villages around the city of Cluj in Western Transylvania preserved and polished these traditions and developed them into the most complicated and elegant of couple dances. Like their neighbours, the Romanians and Hungarians, the Roma of this region have a traditional cycle of dances that includes men’s exhibition dances and continues with couples’ dances. The Roma who are paradoxically both the most conservative and most innovative guardians of theses traditions, have maintained a very fast couple dance, done apart, without linking the partners. Called çingerica, it is ornamented by finger snapping and has incredibly rapid footwork. Helene has been fortunate to be able to research and dance this in a ransylvanian Roma village.

In the Ottoman Empire Roma were popular entertainers for the people and in the courts. Even today many of Istanbul’s famous musicians are Roma. They perform at restaurants, in well-known spots such as Çiçek Pasajı, or in the Roma neighbourhood of Suluküle. In addition to dancing Çiftetelli (tsifteteli) the Roma are masters of dancing in a 9/8 rhythm called Karşılama or Roman. In contrast to common perception, Roman is not danced with wild leaps and tambourines, but rather with exquisitely fine movements, which manage to be very earthy and yet very refined at the same time, while accentuating the 9/8 rhythm in ever changing, unexpected ways.